The owners and occupants of any structure, including homes, office buildings, and industrial spaces are continuously subjected to the risks presented by hazards, such as fire, flooding, electrical anomalies, and so on. For example, it is well known that fire prevention and control has been a long term problem for civilization. In the past, the prevention of fires spreading was the primary reason for the development of fire brigades. In modern times, most developed countries have also put in place building codes to reduce the probability of fire. In addition, smoke and fire detectors, either legally mandated or voluntarily installed, have help mitigate the consequences of fires by reducing the amount of time before an occupant is notified of a fire, particularly in situations where the fire is remote from the person at risk or in situations where smoke might quickly overcome an occupant.
Historically, evaluating the risks presented to the owners and occupants of homes and businesses has been based on observing and analyzing events as they were happening or after they had happened. In the case of fire prevention, at least for most building owners, information about the fire status of a building is only provided when a fire has already started or when smoke has been detected.